Pontiac Salvation Army meets needs

Wednesday

Dec 5, 2012 at 10:17 AMDec 5, 2012 at 10:23 AM

Cynthia Grau

The Pontiac Salvation Army served more than 25,000 individuals in Livingston County in 2011, requiring many volunteer hours, donations and hard work on the part of all involved, and Linda Voorheis, Pontiac's director, said that donations and volunteer hours are meeting the needs of the people in the community."It is sparser during the winter months, but when spring starts, it all starts coming in again," she said.Workers that come to the Salvation Army through the Livingston County Housing Authority, Department of Human Services, those who have been sentenced through the court system with community service as well as volunteers assist those in need, whether it be acting as a bell ringer for the red kettles or working at the thrift store, located at 112 N. Division St."I'm not having any problems getting volunteers. On most days, we have enough volunteers to fill the needs. I have as many as 12 or 14 volunteers a month, which is quite a few. Those that come to me through housing and DHS are considered workers, so I have those people along with the volunteers," Voorheis explained, adding that volunteers logged in approximately 1,456 hours in 2011.Although the Salvation Army is known for collecting donations during the holiday season with the bell ringers standing by the red kettles, not many know exactly how that money is used."The biggest need is coming from people needing help with both food and bills. I see a lot of people that need rent or a security deposit. A lot of times, they have the money to pay one but not the other. I see a lot of people needing help with their electric bills and water bills, which I have a Water Fund that Illinois American Water gives me. That fund has doubled starting in January," she said.In 2011, the Pontiac location gave rent assistance to 62 families, as well as gas and electric assistance to 84 families, water assistance to 68 families and Heat Share through NICOR to 17 families, equaling a total of 750 people helped through that program.Voorheis said that donations of anything from food to clothing, diapers to coats and furniture to school supplies are accepted at the thrift store."A minimal price is charged for the items," she said.A total of 53,500 pounds of bread, bakery items, milk and meat were distributed last year, as well as 2,997 families helped through the food pantry there. Diapers were given to 50 families, 225 coats were given, 28 families received fans in the summer, 271 children received supplies for school and 80 pieces of furniture were given to families in need.The Salvation Army also helps with other various things. It helped four families with transportation, nine families with temporary lodging, 14 families with health care and gave more than 2,000 personal care items in 2011.The holidays are a time when people are also not forgotten.In 2011, 210 Thanksgiving baskets were distributed, serving more than 668 individuals. For Christmas, 525 children received two toys each, as well as stocking stuffers at the Toy Shop.The Thrift Shop sees many families, coming to a total of 7,892 shoppers and 22,419 free clothing items given to individuals throughout the year.All of these things are possible with the volunteers that ring the bells and accept donations in the red kettles."The kettles are the big deal. That is the thing that determines our budget for the year. We get other funding from United Way, private donations, food banks and things like that, but the kettle fund is our big deal," Voorheis said.Pontiac typically has six locations to find a red kettle, but this year, with the imminent closing of Kmart, the city is down to five."I have two at Walmart with both doors covered, one at Big R, one at County Market and one in Santa's house this year," she said.